Fishhook sharpener



Nov. 3, 1953 l.. l.. GAINEs 2,657,503

FISHHooK 'SHARPENER K 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Sept. 19. 1949 F ff ffy@ INVENTOR,

Nov. 3, 1953 2,657,503

L. L. GAINES FISHHOOK SHRPENER Filed Sept. 19, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENToR, 7a3/a 62772766'.

Win/776% Patented Nov. 3, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FISHHOOK SHARPENER Lloyd L. Gaines, Lawrence, Kans.

Application September 19, 1949, Serial No. 116,462

13 Claims. 1

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in iishbook sharpeners, and relates particularly to Sharpeners of the grinder type.

The principal object of the present invention is the provision of a device suitable for grinding the points of shhooks which have been dulled or turned, thereby placing the hooks in condition for further use. It is particularly common for the ne points of fishhooks to be turned or bent by contact with a metal or other hard surface.

Another object is the provision of a flshhook Sharpener including a planar abrasive block and means for reciprocating said block, and means for positioning the tip of a iishhook in operative relationship to said block.

Another object is the provision, in a Sharpener cf the class described wherein a reciprocal abrasive block is urged against a iishhook for grinding the same, of means for mounting said block which is yieldably tiltable relative to said iishhoolr and yieldably urged against said fishhook, whereby said block will contact said fishhook properly at all times as it is reciprocated.

A further object is the provision in a Sharpener of the class described wherein a shhook is sharpened by an abrasive block urged laterally against the point thereof and reciprocally movable longitudinally relative to said point,` of means for urging said block against said iishhook as it moves toward the point of the hook, and means for retracting said block out of contact with said hook on its return stroke.

Other objects are simplicity and economy of construction, ease and convenience of operation, eiiiciency, and adaptability for sharpening various fine pointed articles.

With these objects in View, as well as other objects which will appear in the course of the specification, reference will be had to the drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a fishhook sharpener embodying the present invention, with a fishhook shown in operative relationship thereto.

Figure 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary, vertical longitudinal section of the Sharpener, with parts left in elevation.

Figure 3 is a horizontal section taken on line lll- IU of Fig. 2, with parts left in elevation.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section taken on line IV--IV of Fig. 3, with the abrasive block an associated parts shown in the depressed position.

Fig. 5 is a section taken on line V-V of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a section taken on line VI-VI of Fig. 2.

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of a modied form of the Sharpener, with a shhook shown in operative relationship thereto.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged side elevation of the Sharpener shown in Fig. 7, with parts broken away. g

Fig. 9 is an irregular section taken on line IX-IX of Fig. 8..

Like reference numerals apply to similar parts throughout the several Views, and in the preferred form shown in Figs. 1 to 6, the numeral 2 applies to a body member comprising an elongated rectangular boX made of plastic, wood, metal or other suitable material, and having a top wall 4, side-walls 6, and end-walls 8. The box is closed at the bottom by a cover Il! secured to the box by any suitable means such as screws l2. At the forward end of the body member, or the left end as viewed in Figs. 1 to 4, a transverse purtion of top-Wall l is offset downwardly to form a ledge it, the inner vertical surface i8 of which faces the interior of the body member. Surface l5 and the end surface i8 of top-wall Li are slightly spaced apart longitudinally of the body member.

Surface IS has a vertical groove 2li formed therein substantially in the midline of the body member. Said groove is relatively deep at its upper end, and tapers gradually toward its lower end. The point of a fishhook 22 is inserted downwardly into said groove as best shown in Figs. 2 and 4, the taper of said groove corresponding approximately to the taper of the barb portion of the hook. The portion of the hook adjacent the barb lies against surface H3 of the top-wall, and assists in holding the hook steadily in position. An upwardly projecting boss 24 is formed on topwall 4, the flat forward face 26 of said boss being coplanar with surface i8. rlhis boss provides an extension of surface la against which the fishhook may be braced, and also forms a guard tending to prevent pricking of the lingers with the hook. It will be noted, as shown in Fig. 4, that with the iishhook positioned as described, the hook projects inwardly from surface i6.

An arm 28 extends longitudinally within the upper portion of body member 2. At its rearward end, said arm is formed to present a crosshead 30 which is axially bored to engage pivotally a pin 32 which extends horizontallyy between side-walls 6 and is Xed in said side-walls. A torsion spring 34 is carried about cross-head B and has its central portion engagingarm 28 and its end portions engaging the inner surface of top-wall 4, whereby said arm is urged pivotally upwardly. At its forward end arm 23 is provided with a head 36. An operating rod 38 is pivotally attached at its lower end to said head by means of a horizontal pivot pin and exextension 46. This prevents rotation of the car-- rier and limits the axial movement thereof. At

forwardly projecting, horizontally spaced:aparts ears 54. A forwardly opening cup55 'carrying a 4 60 ride along the rearward surfaces of cam levers 68, and are thereby cammed still further rearwardly. As arm 28 reaches the upper limit of its 'its forward end carrier 48 is providedwithtwoL travel, trunnions Si] pass above the upper ends of cam arms 68, and the abrasive block 58 and its carrier are moved forwardly by spring 68 until said abrasive block contacts the point of the shhook.

Button l4&4 is then repeatedlydepressed and released, 'the brasiye block, wiping 'against` the point of the fishhook during its downward stroke, and being retracted out of contact with said iishhook during its upward or return stroke. This pre- VVents 'lFl'ev possibility that the abrasive block might ,strike andybend or dull the point of the hook "during itsu return stroke. Furthermore, the tiltablock 58 of abrasive material.is .mounted pim-... otally between said ears, said cup being 'providedw with horizontally projecting coaxial trunnions '6D- jcurnaled in said ears.

Trnni'dn's' tfextend outwardlypast saidears to points'"adjacent side-walls of theibody member.y An inwardly projecting cam 82 is formed integrallywith each of side-.walls immediately beneath the normal or raised positions o'fAtruh' nin's 601.11 Each of said'ca'ins is providedV with a rearwardly and 'downwardly inclined surface 64, which engages the associated trunnion when arm 28..i`s` pivoted;"downwardly-,thereby camming cup 5Ba'ridc er 4'8 rearwardly on arm extension 48.2K.' Said cup and' carrierl are normally; urged forwardly byav helical spring 68 disposedy around carrier" and bearing. respetivelyat its oppo site l'ends' against cup E'and `head 3S of arm 28. A movable cam' arm 88 is pivotally mounted in each 'side-wall 6 immediately'behind and below the? normal raised position ofv trunnions '68,- .by means 4ofA pivot" pins 10-extending outwardly through said sidewallsL Said lever arms vextend downwardly `from said pivot pins, and have their Wedge-shaped lowerI ends normally resting against cam surfaces 64, as shown in Fig. 2. Each leverV arm" 6'8 is resiliently urged against cam surface 64 by a 'spr-ing 1:2 fixed at one end to sidewall 6 byl a screw 14", and'v bearing at its opposite end Y,

wardlyfby-lsprin'g 65. '.Theabrasive block is pre-V ventdfrom contacting surface I6 -of thebodyV membrbythc engagement of carrier pin5il in the-forwardend of slot-`52, but the abrasive block will be tooolose to surface I6 to permit the lproper insertion of theiishhool. 22 in groove 2G.` The operatorrst g-rasps body member 2l in his hand and'withy his thumb depresses button 44 .to pivot arm '28 downwardly.` When the upper. edge of abrasive block 'passes below the lower .end of groove 20,- thepoint of the iishhook may'` beinserted downwardly into groove as 'previously described. -As button' 44 is' still further depressed, trunnions 60 .contact surfaces 640i arms 52 Vand are therebyiurged rearwardly, thereby retracting the. abrasive block byforcing carrier 48 4along arrextension against. the pressurebf spring theflower Yends of cam arms 68,`and spring's'12` urge. said arms 'forwardlyto contact cam surfaces 6'45 Thebperator then releases button 4,-

and`farm 28 is returned toits upper position byA spring 34. During the returnstrolr'eglV trunnionsh bilityfof .the...abrasive block on trunnions 8U, and

thebodily movement of the abrasive block longitudinal'to arm 28 provided by the slidability of carriern48 on said armfpermits the block to be urged'squarely against the hook driving its entire stroke over said hook. This provision cornpensates forthe fact, that otherwise the abrasive block would'notmove in a plane, but angularly abou'tgfpivot pin 32,- and permits Vthe face of the abrasive blockto move substantially in a plane. The yieldable mounting of the abrasive block also k'permits it to follow the contours of the iishhook point to aconsiderable extent. The point of the'fishhook may be turned axially in groove 2li-to a limited degree, thereby presenting dii ferent', sides of ysaidf'po'int to thek abrasive block. A screw T6' is threaded vertically through boss 24 of the body member, said screw extendingY inside of the bodyvmember and being positioned vto contact the abrasive block cup 56 at the upper end of 'its stroke. This screw may be adjustably set to regulate the length of the stroke'of the abrasive bloclsover thepoint of the iishh'ook.

FigsQZ, 8, and 9 show a modification of the invention wherein thebody member 19 is substantiallysimilar to body member 2 of the preferred form except vthat. the top-wall 4 is not provided with a hole for an operating rod. Arm 18, `'corresporllding to arm 28 of the preferred form, doesnot have Va connection for an operating rodhbut hasva shoulder 8U' A.formed thereon against whichspring 6G bears. An arm 82 integral with cross-heady) of arm 18, extends rearwardly and downwardly yfrom said cross-head, and has a slot 8 4 formed longitudinally therein. A handle member 86 is `formed at one end to present a crosse-head 8,8 which is mounted pivotally ona pin` 9@ `which .extends between and is fixed in side-walls 6. Said pin is parallel to pivot4 pinK4 32, 7and is disposed adjacent the lower rearward Icornermof the body member. Handle 35 extendsdownwardly from cross-head 88 through a window 92 formed in the bottom cover 94 of thebody member, and is turned to extend forwardly,.in spacedapart relation from said cover.A pair of spaced apart parallel arms 96 extend upwardly andforwardly from cross-head 85. A pin kexteriding.between said arms parallel to pin 90 carries for rotation a roller |00,`

whichis disposed withinslot 34 of arm 82.-

Thus body member 79 and handle-86 form in combination a scissorsftypev hand grip, the repeated= operation of Awhich will 4causearm 'i3 Yto pivot osoillatablysifn the same manner as arm 23l 'of the,preferre,dform. The lstructure and operationiof themodiied device .are otherwise the same as thatof thehpreferred form. A

t It is apparent theta shhook Sharpener having several' advantages has beenproduced,` It

v lis simple, economical, and efficient.` Itis convenient and easy to operate and not likely to get out of order. The pivotal and yieldable mounting of the grinding block permits it to accommodate itself to shhooks having various types of points. The retractability of the grinding block provides that the grinding will be performed only toward the point of the hook.

Although I have shown specific embodiments of my invention, it is apparent that many minor variations of construction and operation could be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A iishhook Sharpener comprising a hollow body member having an aperture therein for receiving the tip portion of a shhook, said body member being formed to prevent lateral movement of said shhook, an arm pivoted at one end in said body member about an axis transverse to the axis of the point of said iishhook, an abrasive block carried lat the opposite end of said arm for movement longitudinally to said arm, resilient means urging said abrasive block outwardly to contact the tip portion of said iishhook laterally, and means for pivotally reciprocating said arm.

2. A i'lshhook Sharpener comprising a hollow body member having an aperture therein for receiving the tip portion of a shhook, said body member being formed to prevent lateral movement of said iishhook, an arm pivoted at one end in said body member about an axis transverse to the axis of the point of said shhook, an abrasive block carried at the opposite end of said arm for movement longitudinal to said arm and for pivotal movement about an axis parallel to the pivotal axis of said arm, a spring carried by said arm and resiliently urging said abrasive block outwardly to contact the tip portion of said iishhook laterally, and means for pivotally reciprocating said arm.

8. A fishhook Sharpener comprising a hollow body member having an aperture therein for receiving the tip portion of a iishhook, said body member being formed to prevent lateral movement of said iishhook, an arm pivoted at one end in said body member about an axis transverse to the axis of the point of said iishhook, an abrasive blook carried at the opposite end of said arm for movement longitudinal to said arm, resilient means urging said abrasive block outwardly to contact the tip portion of said shhook laterally, means for pivotally reciprocating said arm whereby said abrasive block moves in a direction substantially parallel to the axis of the point of said fishhook, and means for retracting said abrasive blockraway from said shhook as it moves toward the point of said shhook.

4. A shhook Sharpener comprising a hollow body member having an aperture therein for receiving the tip portion of a shhook, said body member being formed to prevent lateral movement of said shhook, an arm pivoted at one end in said body member about an axis transverse to the axis of the point of said shhook, a carrier member :carried for longitudinal sliding movement on the free end portion of said arm and having forwardly projecting longitudinal ears, a forwardly opening cup disposed between said ears and having trunnions carried pivotally by said ears, said trunnions being parallel to the pivotal axis of said arm, an abrasive block xed in said cup, a spring carried by said arm and urging 'said cup forwardly,`whereby said abrasive block is urged laterally against the point of said shhook, and means for pivotally reciprocating said arm.

5. A shhook Sharpener comprising a hollow body member having an aperture therein for receiving the tip portion of a shhook, said body member being formed to prevent lateral movement of said iishhook, an arm pivoted at one end in said body member about an axis transverse to the axis of the point of said iishhook, a carrier member carried for longitudinal sliding movement on the free end portion of said arm and having forwardly projecting longitudinal ears, a forwardly opening cup disposed between said ears and having trunnions ycarried pivotallyT by said ears, said trunnions being parallel to the pivotal axis of said arm, an abrasive block fixed in said cup, a spring carried by said arm and urging said cup forwardly, whereby said abrasive block is urged laterally against the point of said ishhook, means for pivotally reciprocating said arm, and cam members carried by said body member and adapted to engage said trunnions to retract said abrasive block away from said shhool: as said block moves toward the point of said i'lshhook.

6. A shhook Sharpener comprising a hollow body member having an aperture therein for receiving the tip portion of a ishhook, said body member being formed to prevent lateral movement of said fishhook, an arm pivoted at one end in said body member about an axis transverse to the axis of the point of said shhook, a carrier member carried for longitudinal sliding movement on the free end portion of said. arm and having forwardly projecting longitudinal ears, a forwardly opening cup disposed between said ears and having trunnions carried pivotally by said ears, said trunnions being parallel to the pivotal axis of said arm, an abrasive .block xed in said cup, a spring carried by said arm and urging said cup forwardly, whereby said abrasive block is urged laterally against the point of said iishhook, means for pivotally reciprocating said arm, xed cams carried by said body member and adapted to contact said trunnions as said abrasive block moves away from the point of said shhook to cam said block and said carrier rearwardly along said arm, movable cam arms each pivoted at one end to said body member and having its opposite end resting against the surface of one of said xed cams; and resilient means urging said cam arms against said xed cams, whereby as said abrasive block is moved away from the point of said hook said trunnions will pivot said cam arms away from said xed cams and pass beyond the free ends of said cam arms, and whereby as said abrasive block is moved toward the point of said hook said trunnions will be retained by said cam arms in a position retracted away from said hook.

'7. A shhook Sharpener comprising a hollow body member having an aperture therein for receiving the tip portion of a shhook, said body member being formed to prevent lateral movement of said shhook, an arm pivoted at onevend in said body member about an axis transverse to the axis of the point of said shhook, an abrasive block carried at the opposite end of said arm for movement longitudinal to said arm and for pivotal movement about an axis parallel to the pivotal axis of said arm, a spring carried by said arm and resiliently urging said abrasive block outwardly to contact the tip portion of said 

